Surprising almost everyone, data showed that U.S. GDP actually decreased 1.4% during the first quarter of the year. Are we looking at a potential recession? Anything is possible, but there's more to the story than just a drop in growth. Using data from 2018 to 2021, economists found that six states were already facing lagging growth, with Hawaii and Alaska leading the pack. Hawaii in particular continues to face challenges from low tourism.
Some states, however, have excelled. Utah, Idaho, and Washington have all grown faster than the national GDP rate, partially due to the rise in remote work. Warmer states like Utah, Idaho, and Florida have seen bumps in GDP, but at the expense of states like Maryland and Connecticut. This, coupled with increased tax revenues in Utah and Idaho, have spurred further growth in the west.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/04/28/americas-economy-unexpectedly-contracts-in-the-first-quarter
When reading about the GDP drop and how some states rose and others dropped it made me wonder if this is how it always is? When there is a GDP drop is it normally only some states dropping or is this a specific instance? I would've expected the majority of states to have their GDPs decrease unlike what happened in this recent report.
ReplyDeleteIt is not surprising that GDP dropped as COVID also played a role as the omicron variant slowed down output. To add on, the supply chain issues slowed down production and caused other issues like inflation to grow
ReplyDeleteThe US is facing many supply chain issued. Also, there is an increase in COVID cases around the country. However, I am surprised to a decrease in GDP. I believe, there will be a big increase in the next number
ReplyDeleteI think that the GDP drop is not that unexpected because of the recent supply chain issues, as well as the impact of COVID. I find it interesting how well Utah, Idaho, and Washington did since I would not have expected those states to grow faster than the national GDP.
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